Published 5:30 am, Friday, August 12, 2005

McFarland refuses to acknowledge his late jump on the recruiting trail or heavy graduation losses. McFarland wants to win now, and the competitive disadvantages blocking the Lumberjacks' path to a Southland Conference title are to be cleared, not fretted over.

"Like any coach, you have to be realistic about what it takes to get a program set the way you want it set," McFarland said. "We're all such competitive people — it's just our nature. I don't think there's going to be a single ballgame where I'm going to walk into saying, 'OK, I'm not going to win this game. I just want to get this accomplished.' We're going to approach every ballgame that we have an opportunity to win."

Based on his attitude, McFarland has the Lumberjacks poised to return to the Division I-AA playoffs for the first time since they claimed a share of the SLC title in 1999, when McFarland was in the final season of a nine-year stint as offensive line coach.

As SFA enjoyed modest success under Mike Santiago, posting a winning record in each of the last six seasons, McFarland served as an assistant at Central Florida (2000-03) and East Carolina (2004). Despite being detached from the SFA program, McFarland dutifully assumes responsibility for the Lumberjacks' mediocre play over the last half decade.

"We've been hit-or-miss," McFarland said. "For us, we just have to get more consistent. We of course did not fare very well in the Southland Conference last year, so obviously that's an area we have to get a lot better competition-wise. If you're going to go to the playoffs and have an opportunity to compete for a championship, you have to do well in your conference."

SFA finished 6-5 last season but just 1-4 in the SLC. Santiago was jettisoned and McFarland hired on Dec. 13. By the time he and his staff settled in, McFarland had one month to entertain the type of prospects he wanted to form the foundation of his program.

SFA inked 14 high school seniors, leaving six available scholarships. McFarland filled out the remaining gaps by bringing in 10 transfers — a whopping total for any program.

"Any time that you've got players that want to transfer, they're going to transfer for a reason," McFarland said. "You've got to make sure those reasons don't jeopardize what you're trying to accomplish as a football team. I'm very pleased to say that the 10 young men that have joined our program came here with no baggage."

The jelling process began last spring, despite McFarland's having had just two weeks to install his multiple formation offense and 4-2-5 defense. Depth is scarce on both lines, and the skill position players are inexperienced. The returning players, however, seem undaunted.

"Our main goal is to win the conference and then ultimately a national championship," senior tight end Matt Bodley said. "From last season, winning only one conference game brought in some negativity. The coaching change is like taking a breath of fresh air. We're all on the same page, and we plan to win more games this year."

If that attitude is widespread, expecting grand results from SFA might not be so outlandish.

"That's the competitive spirit that you want to have with your players," McFarland said "There are a lot of them that are disappointed that they've never experienced the playoffs. Last year, with the high expectations going into the season and with so many returning starters, to have only won one game was a big slap in their face and very disappointing.

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"They're upset about that. They're preparing themselves and wanting to right the ship."